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Cooling off in Medicine Creek is one of Medicine Park's pleasant pastimes.

GuideLive.com

Sunday, May 31, 2015

5K

A herd of about 650 bison roams the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

Revived resort is a great weekend break

Continued from Page 1K

on the banks of Medicine

Creek. At first just a woodfloor dining tent and some
campsites, it grew over the
years to include inns, a dance
hall, a health sanitarium and a
collection of cottages built with
the regions natural round
cobblestones.
People from Oklahoma and
North Texas came here to fish,
boat and swim in the waters of
Medicine Creek, and to visit
the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, at whose gate the
town sits. In its heyday, Medicine Park drew the likes of Will
Rogers, Al Capone, Roy Rogers
and Dale Evans, and Bonnie
and Clyde.
As cars became common,
allowing people to become
more adventuresome in their
travels, Medicine Park, like
many resort towns, went into a
downward spiral. In the 1970s
and 80s, it bottomed out.
It became a criminal haven
drugs and robberies and
shootings, says Doug Kemper,
who grew up in nearby Lawton
and is executive director of the
soon-to-open Medicine Park
Aquarium and Natural Sciences Center.
In 1995, Dave and Candace
McCoy visited the town. Candace was born in Medicine
Park in 1954; her parents operated the resort.
The couple planned to
retire in Bandera from McAllen, but then Candace spotted
a woman putting a for-sale
sign on a restaurant in Medicine Park.
It was run-down, but I
didnt see it that way, Candace
says. She stopped, they talked,
and, we wrote a contract on a
napkin and bought a restaurant. The Riverside Caf, no
longer run-down, is a popular
spot.
Thus began the ongoing
resuscitation of Medicine Park.
Today, while there are still
derelict cobblestone cottages

Medicine Park is a family

destination, so drinking and
cussin by the creek are not
tolerated.

waiting for TLC, prices are

climbing as the town regains
its charm.
A calendar of events keeps
things lively many weekends; a
mountain-bike festival had the
town bustling on the spring
weekend my husband and I
visited.
We stayed at White Horse
Lodging, which is owned by
Susan Horinek, who grew up
nearby and visited Medicine
Park as a child. She moved
away in 1959, eventually settling in Dallas. Five years ago
she returned to Medicine Park,
purchasing three circa-1920s
cottages, one of which her aunt
visited as a honeymooner in
the 1930s.
About 18 years ago, they
were rescued and restored
while staying true to their
original footprint and retaining the first few feet of cobblestone walls, she says.
The cottages all have full
kitchens (a plus, since breakfast options are limited in
town), TV and Wi-Fi, but my
favorite amenity was the
screened porch, where we
enjoyed morning coffee and
quiet evenings.
Nearby, people splash in the
shallows of the creek; paddleboat, kayak and canoe; fish
from its banks; and stroll the
trail rambling alongside it.
And from our cottage, its a
short stroll across the Curtis

Photos by Sophia Dembling/Special Contributor

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge has about 15 miles of hiking trails through ruggedly beautiful scenery.

Davis pedestrian bridge

(named for Candaces father)
to Medicine Parks main drag.
The little stretch of restaurants, shops and galleries
includes the Red Door Gallery,
for arts and crafts by local and
regional artists; the Branded
Bear, for high-end Native
American art and jewelry;
Bullets Burgers & BBQ; and
Basecamp Adventure Outfitters. The Old Plantation
Restaurant serves lunch and
dinner in a 1910 building (restored and reopened in 2008)
that was once a hotel with a
scandalous past.
These are the towns small
pleasures, while the adjacent
Wichita Mountains Wildlife
Refuge is the big draw: 59,000
acres of rocky outcroppings
and mixed-grass prairie are
home to bison, elk, Texas longhorns (ironically) and other
wildlife.

The great bison slaughters

of the 1800s eradicated Oklahomas native bison, so in 1907,
15 were shipped in by rail from
the New York Zoological Park.
Their arrival was a great event;
Comanche chief Quanah Parker was among those who greeted their arrival at the train
station.
Today about 650 live on the
refuge.
Oklahomas last native elk
was killed in 1888. In the early
1900s, a few elk were introduced to the refuge; today the
herd numbers about 800.
Neither wild nor native, Texas
longhorns are outliers but
made the cut for their historic
and cultural significance.
Other wildlife includes
Oklahomas largest breeding
population of the endangered
black-capped vireo, as well as
reintroduced wild turkey, river
otters, burrowing owls and

prairie dogs.
Stop into the visitor center
to watch a short, informative
film, view exhibits and pick up
a map of the refuges 15 miles of
hiking trails, which range from
short strolls to all-day treks.
In a couple of easygoing
hours one afternoon, my husband and I hiked a red-dirt
trail though prairie grasses,
across rocky fields where purple, white and yellow wildflowers bloomed amid stone and
scrub, over a lackadaisical
stream to a waterfall. (More a
trickle, really.)
Then, before returning to
our cottage, we made a requisite detour to Meers Store &
Restaurant, home of a Food
Network-famous hamburger.
You might have to wait for a
table in the rambling, ramshackle old building, a former
mining camp and national
historic site.

When you go
Visit medicinepark.com for
more information.

Youll also wait for your

burger, made fresh from
Meers own longhorn ground
beef. If youre ravenous, the
Meersburger is a whopping 7
inches in diameter. Meers also
brews its own excellent beer,
and if you have any room left,
finish with a big-enough-toshare dish of homemade ice
cream. Perhaps with some
cobbler beneath it.
Medicine Park is close, fun
and an utterly satisfying weekend getaway. And Im not the
least bit surprised. Oklahoma
has a lot more going for it than
many Texans will admit.
Dallas writer Sophia Dembling is the author of 100 Places
in the USA Every Woman Must
Go (Travelers Tales, $19.95).

ROAD TRIP | LA GRANGE

Texas heritage in triplicate

History, German roots
and beer converge at
historic sites
By CHRISTY ROBINSON
Staff Writer
christyrobinson@dallasnews.com

LA GRANGE In 1849, German

immigrant Heinrich Ludwig
Kreische purchased land in La
Grange, 65 miles southeast of Austin.
He built a three-story main house, a
smokehouse, a barn and what would
become the states third largest commercial brewery.
This was no ordinary piece of land.
It came with a mass grave of Texas
soldiers.
What we have left today is Texas
history: archaeological ruins that give
a glimpse of our states German heritage, a memorial on a scenic sandstone bluff 200 feet above the Colorado River and lush, old woodlands.
Begin at the Monument Hill and
Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites
office. Grab a map that details the
parks 1.7 miles of natural trails.

A monument is dedicated to 52
Texas fighters killed in the 1840s.

When you arrive at the mass grave

of 52 Texas fighters killed by Santa
Annas army between 1842 and 1843,
you might be distracted by the vista of
the river and downtown La Grange.
Near the bluff s edge, pause at the
48-foot limestone monument decorated with an art deco mural.
Next, arrive at an overlook for a
view down at the ruins of Kreisches

brewery. Theyre nestled in a valley

surrounded by a fairy tale forest of
yaupon, cedar, live oak and red juniper. The brewery closed in 1884, two
years after Kreisches death. Even in a
derelict state, his German stone work
is distinct and majestic.
Want a closer look? Head down
the steep Kreische Stairway Trail. You
wont be able to explore restricted
areas without a guided tour. Circle
the site for a closer view of the malting kiln, stairs leading down to the
cooling and fermenting rooms, and
the cistern built on a natural spring.
Imagine Kreische waving a banner
that said Frisch Auf (Freshen Up)
when his signature Bluff Beer, a dark
lager, was ready, inviting the community for a few steins.
Finish the loop back toward your
car, or further explore the park via the
Schulenburg Ferry Trail and the
Kreische Woods.
Then just try not to crave a cold
Texas beer.
Follow digital communities specialist
Christy Robinson on Twitter
at @christyrobinson.

Photos by Christy Robinson/Staff

The remains of German immigrant Heinrich Kreisches brewery in La

Grange puts German stonework on display.

When you go

About that cold beer

Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery

State Historic Sites, 414 State Loop 92,
La Grange. Hop on Highway 77 in
Waxahachie and go south 190 miles.
tpwd.texas.gov.
Guided tours of the ruins are offered at
10 a.m. Saturdays, June through
September. From October through
May, theyre at 2 and 3:30 p.m.
Saturdays. Tours of the main house are
offered January through November at
2 and 3 p.m. Sundays. Call ahead to
verify availability.

Theres no brewery in La Grange

today, but here are three places to
have a sip:
Sample honey wine at Rohan
Meadery in La Grange.
rohanmeadery.com.
Try the wine at Rosemarys Vineyard
and Winery in La Grange.
wines-made-in-texas.com.
Drive 44 miles east to try
small-batch craft beer at Huff Brewing
Co. in Bellville. huffbrewing.com.

K5 05-31-2015 Set: 18:06:35

Sent by: jlose@dallasnews.com Travel

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